Pt. Jawaharlal nehru

“Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are
dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.”- Pt. Nehru

Who is this dude?

Jawaharlal Nehru was born on November 14, 1889 (that
makes him a Scorpio) in Allahabad, (Oh by the way Mr. Bachchan,
no not the Bluffmaster, the Shenshah also
hails from the same city). His father Motilal Nehru was
a prominent advocate and early leader of the Indian independence
movement. Popularly referred to as Panditji (Scholar),
Nehru was also a writer, scholar and amateur historian,
and the patriarch of the Nehru-Gandhi family, one of the
most influential forces in Indian politics. After being
tutored at home and attending some of the most modern schools
in India, Nehru travelled to England at the age of 15 to
attend Harrow. He proceeded to study natural sciences at Trinity College,
Cambridge before choosing to train as a BARRISTER at
the Inner Temple in London (can we stop talking about
lawyers!!!).

Frequenting the theatres, museums and opera houses of London,
he would spend his vacations travelling across Europe. Observers
later described him as an elegant, charming young,
intellectual and socialite. (Dude...)

Having made few attempts to establish himself in a legal practise, (Valiant
shall I say) Nehru was immediately attracted to Indian
political life, which at the time was emerging from divisions
over World War I. (Law’s loss is India’s gain)
Nehru was a renowned orator (smooooth!). He could give
many extemporaneous speeches in a single day. His most famous
speech is the "Tryst with Destiny" address to the
Constituent Assembly of India in New Delhi on the night of
August 14th and 15th, 1947.

Jawaharlal Nehru remained the Prime Minister of India for
17 long years and can rightly be called the architect of modern
India. He set India on the path of democracy and nurtured its
institution - Parliament, multi-party system, independent judiciary
and free press. He encouraged Panjayati Raj institutions.

'The Discovery of India’, ‘Glimpses
of World History’, his autobiography, ‘Towards
Freedom' (1936)
ran nine editions in the first year alone. Emotional sensitivity
and intellectual passion infused his writings, giving them
unusual appeal & topicality even today. He was awarded
the Bharat Ratna in 1955.

His birthday is observed as Children's Day (November
14th…Happy
Birthday Chachu) He believed that children are the future
of the nation. (Now you know why we are covering him this month
in our whole new section Who is this DUDE.

An Anecdote

In November 1957, a curious article appeared
in an Indian newspaper called The Modern Times. Entitled "The Rashtrapati," the
piece scathingly criticized Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru.

While the author acknowledged Nehru's
innate drive and initiative, he also alluded to the prime
minister's undeniable autocratic streak. He urged the Indian
electorate to exercise caution, lest Nehru turn into a despot.
Indeed, electing this man for a third consecutive term, the
article warned, would fan his ego and endanger Indian society,
saying that his character was marked by "intolerance of others and a certain contempt
for the weak and inefficient". The author, who signed
himself "Chanakya", added that Nehru's conceit
was "already formidable", and worried that soon "Jawaharlal
might fancy himself as a Caesar". The author of this article
was Nehru himself under a pseudonym of Chanakya. This
publication is a significantly important example of auto critique.

[The ruse failed; Nehru remained in office until 1964.]

Trivia

Nehru's verdict of Joseph Stalin? "...that
great lover of peace, a man of giant stature who moulded,
as few other men have done, the destinies of his age."
[Source: Karnataka Quiz Association; Obituary tribute, Indian
Parliament, 9 Mar 1953]

The Nehru jacket is named in his honour due to his
preferred wearing of jackets that later inspired the
Nehru jacket's design.

Roshan Seth played Nehru’s character in Richard
Attenborough’s 1982 film Gandhi. In Ketan Mehta's
film Sardar, Nehru was portrayed by Benjamin Gilani
and in Jamil Dehlavi's film Jinnah, he was portrayed
by Robert Ashby.

Chinese miscalculation

Nehru assumed that as former victims of imperialism (India
being a colony itself) they shared a sense of solidarity,
as expressed in the phrase "Hindi-Chini bhai bhai" (Indians
and Chinese are brothers). He was dedicated to the ideals
of brotherhood and solidarity among developing nations,
while China was dedicated to a realist vision of itself
as the Big-Brother of Asia. Nehru did not believe that
one fellow Socialist country would attack another; and
in any event, he felt secure behind the impregnable wall
of ice that is the Himalayas. Both proved to be tragic
miscalculations of China's determination and military capabilities.
As Nehru declared the intention to confront Chinese occupation
of the disputed areas, China made a pre-emptive attack
on the Indian front. (Damn! Chinese)

Indian casualties were in the tens of thousands largely
due to exposure to the raw and frigid conditions, and complete
depletion of ammunition in face of Chinese human-wave attacks.
India was vanquished by the Chinese People's Liberation
Army in a bitter and cold battles in the North and North-East.
Only the intervention of the US (Big Brother, apparently
they aren’t that bad) 6th fleet in Bay of Bengal
convinced the Chinese to stop their advances. The military
debacle against China in 1962 was thoroughly investigated
in the Henderson-Brooks Report, which successive Indian
governments have refused to release.

Regardless of the fault lines, Nehru remains the most
important architect of free India. The words of Justice
Oliver Wendell Holmes come to mind here. "A great
man represents a great ganglion in the nerves of society,
or to vary the figure, at a strategic point in the campaign
of history and his greatness consists in seizing that opportunity
and being there at that particular strategic point."